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y @glatten tapes gutem @ffice Laim mantuvo. recientes mmm 18, 1868.

-IMPROVED GANG-intron.`

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, BEJAMIN G. WnLcIn of Danville, in the county of Monteur, and State of Pennsyl- Vania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Gang-Punch; and I do hereby declare that the following is a. full, clear, and exact description of the-construction and operation of the same, reference being` had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, iu which- I Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section, and

Figure 2 a transverse section of the said improved punch- Like letters of reference indicating the same parts when in the different figures.V

My improvement relates more` especially to the gang-punch used for punching and cutting oi. therba'rs for' railway fish-plates, and has for its object the preservation of the proper Vrelative positions of the punches and dies during the operation of punching the heated bars; and my invention consists, substantially as hereinafterldescribed, in making the dies in separate blocks, so as to leave free spa-ces 'between them when under, the gang of punches, during theroperation of punching and cutting oli` the'heuted hars.4 A

Referring to the drawings, A B is arising and falling beam or bar, carryingthe punches d a and the cutter b', and C D a stationary bed-plate, directlyfunder the gang of punches, and supporting the dies cc.' The punches a' a are fixed vertically, at the required distances apart, along Vin the under side .ofvthe beain A B, and the cutter /is adjustably secured `to oneend ofthe beam, .and so that the lowerends of all the said punclies a and the cutter Z1 shall be in the sam-ehorizcntalplane,-as shown ing. 1. -The diese care separate blocks 1 .of' metal, gne for eachV punch, made-wider at their bottoms than attheir tops, and arranged` along in a correi u spending under-cut groove c in the bed-plate C D, so that they can be forced alongtherein to cdme directly und'entheir respective punches a', and be held' firmly down by the said under-cut groove c, substantially as represented in the drawings. The top or upper side of each of the -dies c has a. groove,- c., which `,is of the transverse form, width,land depthot` the heated bar which is to be Vpiinchcd, so that the said bar can be moved er pushed along longitudinally therein by the workman, without moving the said dies, when the punches and cutter are elevated. p

In the drawings, the punches arereprescnted as resting down in their dies. The faint lines n v', ing. 1, represent the bar of hot iron as in the groove am; the1 faint lines w w represent the beam, with its attached punches a', as descending, and the punches about to pierce thcbarv, and the faint lines e o'as `the punched portion of the bar, subsequently cut oiiby theV cutter t. Directly under the holesrof thedieabloc'ks. there isa long slot, el', made through theb'ed-plate C D, forallowingthc small lumps of-metal," which are punchedfrom the hot bar c, to pass freely downward andbe discharged.

Operation. 4

The punch and cutter, carrying beam A B, is intended tobe raised to a suiific'ient height `and then -let fall, byrany suitable machinery connecting it with a motive-power, and, whilst elevated, the. forward end of the heated bar, which is .to b c punched and out oil', is to be pushed by the workman, 0,'along iu the grooves c e. of the dies c c .to the proper limited distance, when the punches in the falling carrier siinultaucouslyv punch the series of holes required in the bar, and, on being again elevated, the barls to he pushed forward .the same distance as before, or so that when the punch and cutter-carrier A l? again falls, the utter will cut olf4 the previouslypunched portion ofthesaid bar, and, at the same time, the gang oi' punches c( make the series of holes required in the next section of' the bar, and so on until the whole bar has been punched and divided into the required sections or shebars The die-blocks c being held securely by the undercut groovecm'in the bed-plate, and at .some `distance apart from each other, expand or lengthen as they absorb heat from the bar, without altering the positions of their punch-holes in relation to their respective punches a. It will4 be seen that the preservation of'A the proper relative`pcsitions of the punches and dies4 will be eifectually'maintained during the operation of the machine, and in the 'most simple manner. It will` also beseen that, as the punches a are merely pressed firmly in respective holes, made to receive them iu the beam B, their relative positionsvcannot be varied by the absorption of heat by the said b'eammore than will be caused inthe dies by the absorption of heat by the bed-plate; in other Words,"the relative expansionxaud contraction of the' beam A B and bed-plate C D will .beequaL und the punches `and dies, therefore, always directly opposite to each other.. K

Having thus fully described rny improvement im the gang-punch, what I claim as new therein, of my invention,'a.nd desire to secure by Letters Patent, is con'ned to the following, viz:

I claim the construction and arrangement ofthe dies c'l cof a gang-punch, disconnected or sepa-fated from each other by Suitable spaces, c c", in their bed-plate C D, substantiolly as described and set, forth, for the purpose specified. I l

v BENJ. G. WELCH. Witnesses:

- BENJ. MonIsoN, J. C. BAILEY. 

